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Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Spoon Bread with Leeks and Gruyere Cheese

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I rarely make fish and chips, but I had some catfish fillets that had to be used and thought a Southern-style fish fry would be a nice change of pace for our supper. Bob and I completed the river walk at a brisk pace this morning, so I felt less guilty about frying than might otherwise have been the case. I did rule out French fries, but only because I had two other Southern recipes that I wanted to try. We Northern gals rarely have spoon bread. As a matter of fact, I'll wager there are some Northern gals who have never had spoon bread. I'd only had it once before tonight's dinner. Although it's called a bread, it's really more like a cornmeal souffle or savory pudding than a bread. It has a moist, custard-like interior. That interior is probably what led to the practice of always serving the pudding with a spoon. I'm told Southerners wouldn't dream of using a knife and fork to move a serving from the casserole to a plate. The true history of spoon bread is not well documented, so I think some conjecture is fair. Corn was used because it was more readily available than flour. Leaveners, other than yeast, were not generally available until the middle part of the 19th century. Yeast breads take time to make. Cooks, early on, discovered that eggs could be used to quickly leaven certain dishes. Early versions of spoon bread used eggs as a leavener and that moved it into the category of a colonial quick bread. Quick breads, then and now, are popular. This recipe takes spoon bread to another level. It is flavored with leeks and cheese and it is altogether delicious. It's also very easy to make. If you like polenta, I think you'll love this. While Gruyere cheese adds a lovely nutty flavor to the dish, Swiss cheese can also be used. Here's the recipe.Spoon Bread with Leeks and Gruyere Cheese...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, adapted from Savoring AmericaIngredients:2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup chopped leeks (white and tender green of 3 leeks)
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2/3 cup sour cream
4 eggs
1-1/2 cups shredded Gruyere cheese
2 scallions (white and tender green), chopped
Directions:1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 1-1/2-quart casserole with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
2) Melt butter in a 3-quart saucepan set over medium-high heat. Add leeks and saute until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add milk, water,salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Slowly whisk in cornmeal and return mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and continue to stir until mixture thickens and pulls away from sides of pan. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.
3) In bowl of an electric mixer, beat eggs until thick and pale lemon yellow in color, about 5 minutes. Stir 1/4 cup of cornmeal mixture into eggs. Then fold egg mixture into remaining cornmeal mixture, stirring constantly to prevent eggs from scrambling. Fold in cheese and scallions.
4) Scrape mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Serve at once directly from casserole. Yield: 6-8 servings.

Count me among those who haven't ever tried spoon bread. As a matter of fact, though I've read about it in books - especially books about the southern USA - I had no idea of what it looked like. It sounds yummy, though, and I may try it with dinner some time soon - I'll let you know.

Thumbs up from this southern lady! And, you're right, we'd never cut a slice!! I haven't made spoon bread in years but have printed out this recipe. I've only had it plain but, with leeks and gruyere--oh my!

I've never had spoon bread -- we're from that part of the country that is part north and part south -- but our food seems to be mostly southern (think biscuits and gravy and chicken fried steak) -- but not everything came our way (the Yankees influence?) -- but you had me on polenta! I may have to rectify never have had spoon bread!

You have taken this marvelous southern dish and improved it tenfold, Mary! Do you know a lot of people have no idea what this is? I served it once years ago and nobody had a clue! My recipe is a simple spoonbread souffle and I had it originally at a meal in the 50's, the host was the cook. We were all so impressed he knew how to make this.

I love the idea of gruyere (my favorite) and leeks mixed into the dish. Saving this recipe to use the next time I make it!

I wanted to visit you and thank you for visiting my blog recently. You have a wonderful collection of recipes. I am especially interested in your Lemon Poppy Seed bread recipe. I love tea breads and agree that they aren't as commonly made, but I think they should be. I look forward to looking around your blog more, you have some lovely recipes. Blessings,Erinhttp://homeswheremyheartis.blogspot.com

Mary, I love this version of spoon bread. My recipe for spoon bread muffins uses buttermilk, but I like this with milk and sour cream. The leeks and cheese are a great addition. I will definitely be making this. Even though I am a northern gal too, I have developed a love for spoon bread.

I've made spoon bread a couple of times back when I was getting paid to cook. I used a recipe I found in a magazine called Cuisine At Home which called for adding cooked carrots and squash to the batter and heavy cream and egg yolks. You then folded in the whites before baking it.I put cheddar cheese and bacon in it! It was great--I served it with pork chops.

my only concern with this recipe is TEXTURE...i do not eat such things as tapioca, bread pudding and thigs of the sort because of texture...is this mushy or soggy at all?? it sounds divine, but not sure about it...

mary....your blog is wonderful!!!! thanks for visiting me over at southern belle simple....i can't wait to make your pepper jelly! my pepper plants are doing well and hopefully i'll have enough to make a good amount! i'm your newest follower! xoxox -kate

Hi Mary....thank you for stopping by my blog..I have been to yours many times and have enjoyed the wonderful recipes you post...I very often do food posts so please stop back....I like to mix it up a bit and write about a little of everything....Sue @ RueMouffetard

Mary, your spoon bread looks delicious! I haven't made it for a good while and will have to try your recipe. It sounds great because of the leeks and especially the Gruyere cheese. I would've never thought of that combo for spoon bread. Pure comfort food in my book! Great recipe! Hope you're having a wonderful day! Pam

Fabulous! You know, I've been so wanting to finally make spoon bread and now I am glad I waited! The leeks and the cheese bring it up to another level entirely! It looks perfect! And I would so love some fried catfish to go with it!

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